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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Beth Rubino, the Set Decorator for Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated.

And we got her!!! The Academy Award nominated, Set Decorator extraordinaire Beth Rubino sat down at the Skirted Roundtable to talk about - you got it - Something's Gotta Give, the popular Nancy Meyers film which starred the beautiful Southampton beach house as much as any of its Hollywood actors! But, the surprise was on us.

The Living Room From from Something's Gotta Give

It turned out that Beth Rubino is far too a fascinating and intelligent a woman to be pigeonholed by just one movie, despite the fact that we want her to be. Beth is full of stories about the movie industry and what her job as Set Decorator entails. We get Beth to discuss the famous beach house with its even more famous blue and white rug - which she tells us all about.

The Dining Room from Something's Gotta Give

And we got Beth to tell us the secret of exactly where the inspiration for the house came from - especially the much beloved dining room with its wall of white ironstone.

The Concourse Level of the Twin Towers designed by Beth Rubino for the movie World Trade Center.

But life as a Set Decorator is not all beautiful Southampton beach houses. In Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," Beth was challenged to recreate the concourse level of the Twin Towers. Beth describes for us what happened the day the invited first responders came to visit the set.

Please join Linda, Megan and Joni as they talk Hollywood and the most famous movie house ever with the woman who designed it, down to the last glass in the kitchen! You do NOT want to miss this one!!!

35 comments:

Not sure which I liked better - the movies or the houses. Since "It's Complicated" is still fresh on my mind, all I can say is that house was fabulous! I kept getting distracted in following the plot of the story because I was thinking...seriously, why would she want to change the house!?

So interesting, I was not surprized by the idea that the floor would be paper, movies are fake...fake at it's best,right?..and good on you to use what ever you can.I could have listened for another hour, great interview...

Wonderful interview! When the "Something's Gotta Give" set was in Architectural Digest several years ago I saved it for a long time, then ripped out the set pictures and tossed the rest! I was so surprised when I found it was a set and the pool was only a few feet deep!

That was incredibly informative. I so appreciate period films and value the talents and abilities of the people who look after all those details, it was so interesting to hear about the process. Btw, I loved Original Sin and had no idea Ms Rubino was the set decorator...I think I thought it was just organically gorgeous...I guess that means it was a job well done;) Thanks again!

I love that Beth's formal training education gave her such a formidable background. I can appreciate her desire to want to live a lifestyle commensurate with NY. Her sets are artistic, friendly and visually pleasing.So fun to see Anne Harwell's artwork too.Great interview.pve

can you say dream job?! ... lovely interview, ladies ... especially love Beth's desciption of her set design work as "giving visual voice to a character"--that's so true in real life decorating projects as well but i never thought of phrasing it that way ... this was my first time at The Skirted Roundtable and i look forward to returning

There was a person in the DR. Interesting interview. I wish she had spent more time talking about the set designs for SGG and It's Complicated rather than other movies and the World Trade Center. A fun listen!xoxo,nancy

When I first saw this movie I had rented it from a video store for one night. Little did I know at the time that I would fall in love with the decor. I re-watched it at least 3 times in slow motion and pause so I could take note of every detail. The next day I was so smitten that I started painting everything white and blue, re-arranging, and slip covering, everything short of staining my floors dark. It is still the reference I base my decorating choices on. Thanks for snagging the interview, it was facinating. Thanks

Riveting!If a career for the detail minded person was tailor made, it is that of the set decorator!Beth is so old Hollywood. In the old days the actor's underwear was as important as the exquisite costume and set design.xo xoOriginal Sin is one of my favorite movies and I never paid attention to who did the outstanding set decor!

I finally had a chance to listen to this very enjoyable interview. It's so good to hear about all the other crazy people who were also obsessed with the interiors. I was one of those people who also had to buy the VHS (and player) version so I could pause it exactly where needed to analyze each detail!!!

This is SO great... I've learned a ton and I find it all so interesting from the décor's intrinsic value to an actor's artform to the source of inspiration for the rooms, and more and more. Just great gals!! Thank you.

Listened to this again having now seen the movie - so wonderful. In It's Complicated the set (of the house) helped define Meryl Streep's character so much and helped add a layer of depth as to why she was still so attractive to her lovers (apart from being gorgeous Meryl Streep. The layering in her house showed someone who had lived, had a variety of interests, had family, was a mother, a successful business woman and so on. The other thing I must comment on was how GORGEOUS that bakery was - my goodness - it was stunning!

Listened to this again having now seen the movie - so wonderful. In It's Complicated the set (of the house) helped define Meryl Streep's character so much and helped add a layer of depth as to why she was still so attractive to her lovers (apart from being gorgeous Meryl Streep. The layering in her house showed someone who had lived, had a variety of interests, had family, was a mother, a successful business woman and so on. The other thing I must comment on was how GORGEOUS that bakery was - my goodness - it was stunning!

So interesting and so entertaining. I loved this interview. I'm so impressed that you got this interview. Thank you TSR hosts for all of your work (which I am sure it is work, even though it always sounds like you're having a blast)! laurie

I'm so far behind on your podcasts, but I finally had a chance to sit down and listen to this one. Loved it! So interesting to get the behind-the-scenes stories and scoop. I'll be linking to it soon. Thanks, ladies! :-)

A belated thank you for this wonderful interview with Beth Rubino! What a pro - you can really tell how dedicated she is at what she does. We linked to it in our blog earlier today:http://blogs.graciousstyle.com/

Ladies, Thank you for posting this terrific interview! I'm a latecomer to the blog, but better late than never. Your posts are inspirational. I, too, think the decoration from "Soemthing's Gotta Give" is a dream. Six years after the film, I've not yet seen interior decor in a magazine or movie that I like more. Thank You!!

Great interview! I remember one of my very first blog posts was about Movies sets that inspire me. Something's Gotta Give was one of them. I was brand new to blogland and I had no idea every other design blog had written about that house too. I also wrote about Marie Antoinette. I loved It's Complicated and also Mrs. Potter. I watch and rewatch Something Gotta Give, It's Complicated, and Marie Antoinette any day I just want to veg-out inside and be inspired. Thanks for the interview ladies!! We all love you!

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